


Reading The Future (Divergent characters read the books)

by browneyedgirl998



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-21 15:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16578755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/browneyedgirl998/pseuds/browneyedgirl998
Summary: The character from Divergent read the books when the future daughter of Tris and Tobias forces them to try and stop the war. This takes place right after Tris jumps into Dauntless.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Divergent, all characters-except the ones I makeup-and rights go to Veronica Roth

(This takes place right after Tris jumps from the building into Dauntless.)

When all the initiates are on solid ground again, Lauren and Four lead us down a narrow tunnel. 

Suddenly, there is a high pitched beeping sound and I am standing in a bright room with people who look just as confused as I do. 

I catch sight of Four, Christina, Caleb, Peter, My parents, Tori, Marcus, Susan, and Max. These are the only people I recognize. 

There is a boy who is my age with dark skin, a Dauntless-born, and an older boy who looks similar, they must be related. 

There is Dauntless-born a girl who keeps looking at the younger boy with brown skin with a smile.

There is also an Erudite transfer with blond, shaggy hair and green eyes. 

A Candor Transfer who is so wide and tall I stare for a moment.

Another Dauntless who has greasy hair and so many piercings I lose count quickly. 

I see two girls who are staying close to each other, one has a bald head while the other has a short brown hair. 

Finally, I see a girl standing in the middle of the room, she is the only one who doesn't look confused, in fact, she smiles lovingly at me. She speaks up.

“Hello, my name is Roxy, I am from the future and I have this message for you,” she keeps staring at me and Four for some reason. 

“There are a lot of bad things that are about to happen and I found these books that have the story written down.” She holds up three books and I stiffen at the name, Divergent, I am divergent.

“I have collected you all here because you play some role in this story. The main characters are Tris because the book is from her perspective,” I stand there shocked at what I’m hearing.

“And Four because… well, let’s just say you’ll find out soon enough.” She smiles at the end of this. 

“You need to read all these books, I will be here the whole time, this is a safe house that has no weapons of any kind and you each have your own room, couples, of course, can share.” She says nodding to my parents. 

I notice that Roxy has blond hair like me and dark blue eyes like four, she also is built like me, small, but has Four’s facial structure. I freeze. She said she was from the future.

“I am sure that by now you,” She says looking at me. “Have noticed that I look a lot like you and Mr. Scary instructor over there.” She says nodding at Four. 

“I am actually your daughter, you and Four get together and if you can fix what happens in these books then you will end up having me.” I stand there with my mouth open and I pinch myself, making sure I’m not dreaming. 

I look over at Four and see that he almost has a smile on his face, almost. 

“Wait,” Four says, “You mean I start dating Tris and we have a kid?” He looks like he is trying not to smile. 

Roxy just grins at him “Not just one kid, I had to share my room with my twin, Natalie, and our little brother, Rhys (pronounced Reese), got a room all to himself!” She throws her hands up in mock outrage. 

“I had to share a bathroom with her for 14 years until you guys finally decided to accept the leadership position because you were having another kid and the house was getting small.” She glares at us and I laugh a little, she reminds me of myself a bit. 

Turning back to Four she says “I know you like her, no need to hide it here, It will all be out in the open when we read the book anyway.” 

Four looks shocked and so do I, no one would want me, I am built like a child and nothing about me in attractive. 

Roxy looks over at me. “And, I know that right now, you are thinking about how unattractive you are and how no one would ever like you. I’m here to tell you that what you are thinking is bullshit and Four likes you so can we please read the books now! It's mom's birthday in two months and dad will kill me if I miss it again” she says rolling her eyes.

Everyone looks shocked but takes a seat. She can really command a room. I blush a little and look at Four who has a hint of color in his face. Is everything Roxy said true?

“Who wants to read first?” She asks and my mother holds her hand out for the book with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They read the first chapter of the book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own divergent

My mother opens the book and starts reading. 

 

**THERE IS ONE mirror in my house.**

 

Christina stares at me and my family. “What do you mean,  _ there is one mirror in my house,  _ That is completely crazy.” I roll my eyes and my mother continues. 

 

**It is behind a sliding panel in the hallway upstairs. Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the second day of every third month, the day my mother cuts my hair.**

 

I hear Peter fake yawn and throw a pillow at him. Roxy smiles at me and my mother continues. 

 

**I sit on the stool and my mother stands behind me with the scissors, trimming. The strands fall on the floor in a dull, blond ring.**

 

I see my mother smiling and so is Roxy, she seems to like hearing about my life. Suddenly I feel eyes on me. I look at Four and see that he is staring at me, he blushes slightly and looks away. 

 

The boy sitting next to Four interrupts my mom. “Woah, Four. Are you blushing? I thought that’s something only humans with hearts can do.” Four looks at him

 

“Zeke, shut up before a beat you to a pulp.” This seems to work as Zeke gulps and looks away, I can't help but giggle a little and Four looks back at me. My mother continues.

 

**When she finishes, she pulls my hair away from my face and twists it into a knot. I note how calm she looks and how focused she is. She is well-practiced in the art of losing herself.**

 

My mother snicker at that, “What’s funny?” I ask she smiles. “Honestly, Beatrice, I was just a really good actor at first, I was born Dauntless and I transferred to Abnegation so I could be with your father.”

 

I stare at her in shock, this is crazy. Caleb is the first to speak. “So, you just pretend?” he asks and my mother shakes her head. “At first I had to but after a while, it becomes your natural instinct.”

 

Before anyone can say anything, she continues reading. 

 

**I can’t say the same of myself.**

 

My father gives me a sad smile while the Dauntless-born next to Zeke rolls his eyes. “What’s wrong?” I ask him, he just laughs.

 

“You seem so dramatic all the time, I’m Uriah by the way, Zeke’s brother.” I nod and my mother keeps reading

 

**I sneak a look at my reflection when she isn’t paying attention.**

 

Everyone kind of snickers at that. 

 

**-not for the sake of vanity, but out of curiosity. A lot can happen to a person’s appearance in three months.**

 

All the abnegation in the room except my mother give me disapproving looks and I shrink into my chair. 

 

**In my reflection, I see a narrow face, wide, round eyes, and a long nose- I still look like a little girl, though sometime in the last few months I turned sixteen.**

 

Roxy rolled her eyes when I said I still look like a little girl. “Tris, honestly. Before you and Four got married, he was constantly beating up guys who were hitting on you. You are pretty, I can say that because Natalie, my twin, looks exactly like you and she has guys praising the ground she walks on.”  

 

I blush a bit at that and see Four nodding a little in agreement. My mom keeps reading with a smile. 

 

**The other factions celebrate birthdays, but we don’t. It would be self-indulgent.**

 

Uriah jumps up at that. “You mean no cake?!” he shouts. I look at him confused and Roxy laughs. 

 

“Uriah, I’ll give her some cake at dinner tonight, she’s never had any before. Gosh, it’s so weird talking to you guys like this. Usually, I’m calling everyone aunt or uncle and calling Four dad and Tris mom. Then I call Mr. and Mrs. Prior Grandma and Grandpa. This is so strange.” She says having a little thinking out loud moment. 

 

This makes me smile and I notice so does Four.

 

**“There,” she says when she pins the knot in place. Her eye catch mine int eh mirror. It is too late to look away,**

 

“Oh! Stiff’s gonna get in trouble!” Uriah shouts and Marlene smacks him on the back of the head. “Ow,” he says rubbing his head and I smile at Marlene. 

 

**But instead of scolding me, she smiles at our reflection.**

 

“Oh,” Uriah says and I laugh at him.

 

**I frown a little. Why didn’t she reprimand me for staring at myself?**

 

My father looks at my mother who is determinately avoiding his gaze and continues reading. 

 

**“So today is the day,” she says**

**“Yes,” I reply.**

**“Are you nervous?”**

**I stare into my own eyes for a moment. Today is the day of the aptitude test that will show me which of the five factions I belong in. And tomorrow at the choosing ceremony, I will decide on a faction; I will decide to stay with my family or abandon them.**

 

“God,Stiff, Overdramatic much?” says the girl with the shaved head. I just shrug, unsure how to reply. My mother starts reading again. 

 

**“No,” I say.**

 

“So Candor’s out,” Christina says looking at me, I just nod, confirming what she said. 

 

**“The tests don’t have to change our choices.”**

**“Right.” She smiles. “Let’s go eat breakfast.”**

**“Thank you for cutting my hair” She kisses my cheek and slides the panel over the mirror.**

**I think my mother could be beautiful, in a different world.**

 

My mother stops to look up at me and smiles. 

 

**Her body is thin beneath the grey robe. She has high cheekbones and long eyelashes, and when she lets her hair down at night, it hangs in waves over her shoulders.**

 

“You know,” Zeke starts, “It kind of sounds like you're checking out your mom.” I scrunch up my nose in disgust at the thought and the Dauntless around me laugh at my uncomfortable expression. Sensing my discomfort, my mother quickly starts reading again. 

 

**But she must hide that beauty in Abnegation**

 

“Abnegation is a strange faction,” Tori says and almost everyone nods. 

 

**We walk together to the kitchen. On these mornings when my brother makes breakfast, and my father’s hand skims my hair as he reads the newspaper, and my mother hums as she cleans the table-it is on these mornings that I feel guiltiest for wanting to leave them.**

 

My family all wear sad expressions as my mother continues reading with a slight frown. 

 

“This is a page break.” My mother says. 

 

**The bus stinks of exhaust, every time it hits a patch of uneven pavement, it jostles me from side to side, even though I’m gripping the seat to keep myself still.**

 

**My older brother, Caleb, stands in the aisle, holding a railing above his head to keep himself steady.**

 

I look over at Caleb, it still amazes me that someone who acts so Abengation can be Erudite. I sigh. 

 

**We don’t look alike. He has my father’s dark hair and hooked nose and my mother’s green eyes and dimpled cheeks.**

 

**When he was younger, that collection features looked strange,**

 

Caleb laughs at that and I find my shoes very interesting all of a sudden. 

 

**But now it suits him. If he wasn’t Abnegation, I’m sure girls at school would stare at him.**

 

“We did that anyway. Your brother can’t take a hint, Tris.” Marlene says exasperatedly and Caleb blushes furiously. Everyone, even my parents, crack up. He looks like a tomato. Once everyone had calmed down my mother starts reading again. 

 

**He also inherited my mother’s talent for selflessness. He gave his seat to a sruly Candor man on the bus without a second thought.**

 

**The Candor man wears a black suit with a white tie-Candor standard uniform. Their faction values honestly and sees the truth as black and white, so that is what they wear.**

 

I see the smile Christina wears when book me talks about candor. 

 

**The gaps between the buildings narrow and the roads are smoother as we near the heart of the city.**

 

**The building was once called the Sears Tower-we call it the Hub-emerges from the fog, a black pillar in the skyline.**

 

“So descriptive, Tris,” Marcus says and I smile a little, getting a comment from and abnegation leader is rare and an honor. I see out of the corner of my eye that Four stiffens when Marcus talks to me. 

 

**The bus passes under the elevated tracks. I have never been on a train, though they never stop running and there are tracks everywhere.**

 

**Only the Dauntless ride them.**

 

All the Dauntless shout and pump their fists in the air. 

 

**Five years ago, volunteer construction workers from Abnegation repaved some of the roads. They started in the middle of the city and worked their way outward until they ran out of materials.**

 

“Why are we getting a history lesson, all of us already know this.” says the man with the piercing and greasy hair, rolling his eyes. 

 

“Well, Eric,” says Four “Maybe some of the readers didn’t know that and this is clarifying the situation.” I smile gratefully at him and his mouth twitches. 

 

Eric scoffs and my mother keeps reading. 

 

**The roads where I live are still cracked and patchy, it is not safe to drive on them. We don’t have a car anyway.**

 

At this Christina walks over to me. “Tris, I know you are a good person but these are some of the worst things I have ever heard. Not having a car!” I laugh and Christina keeps talking. 

 

“Tomorrow, I am giving you a full makeover, we are going to turn you Dauntless. Marlene, want to help?” I groan and fall on the couch while everyone laughs at me and my mother keeps reading. 

 

**Caleb’s expression is placid as the bus sways and jolts on the road. The gray robe falls from his arm as he clutches the pole for balance.**

 

**I can tell by the constant shift of his eyes that he is watching the people around us-striving to see only them and to forget himself.**

 

Caleb shifts uncomfortably in his chair, “I was actually trying to figure out how busses are able to move with so many people on board.” He says trying not to meet my parent’s eyes. 

 

**Candor values honesty, but our faction, Abnegation, values selflessness.**

**The bus stops in front of the school and I get up, scooting past the Candor man.**

 

**I grab Caleb’s arm as I stumble over the man’s shoes. My slacks are too long and I’ve never been that graceful.**

 

Everyone laughs at that and Four speaks up. “You almost face planted when you got out of the net today.” I blush and look down. 

 

“Page break.” my mother says. 

  
  


**The Upper Levels building is the oldest of the three schools in the city: Lower Levels, Mid-Levels, and Upper Levels.**

 

**Like all the other buildings around it, it is made of glass and steel. In front of it is a large metal sculpture that the Dauntless climb after school, daring each other to go higher and higher.**

 

“Oh yeah!” Marlene yells, “I climbed that thing once and broke my leg when I fell. Some Abnegation chick got the nurse, I never got to thank her.” She says thoughtfully. I grin at the book.

 

**Last year I watched one of them fall and break her leg. I was the one who ran to get the nurse.**

 

Marlene grins at me, “Thanks, Tris.” I smile back. 

 

**“Aptitude tests today,” I say. Caleb is not quite a year older than I am, so we are in the same year at school.**

 

**He nods as we pass through the front doors. My muscles tighten the second we walk in.**

 

“Why?” Zeke and Uriah ask at the same time. Four rolls his eyes.

 

“I think she’s about to explain that if you just keep your mouth shut.” Four says in an exasperated voice. 

 

Zeke grins. “Sorry Four, you're like a brother to me but that is one of the few things I can’t do.”

 

**The atmosphere feels hungry, like every sixteen-year-old is trying to devour as much as he can get of this last day.**

 

**It is likely that we will not walk these halls again after the Choosing Ceremony-once we choose, our new factions will be responsible for finishing our education.**

 

“Can we skip this part? This is like a teacher’s lecture.” Uriah groans. My mother ignores him and keeps reading. 

 

**Our classes are cut in half today, so we will attend all of them before the aptitude tests, which take place after lunch. My heart rate is already elevated.**

 

“You sound like and Erudite, Tris,” says The bald girl-I figured out her name is Lynn-and I tense a bit, they will all know my secret soon, if what Roxy said in true. Tori said not to tell anyone and now a whole room on strangers will know. 

 

**“You aren’t at all worried  about what they’ll tell you?” I ask Caleb.**

 

**We pause at the split in the hallway where he will go one way, toward Advanced Math, and I will go the other way, toward Faction History.**

 

**He raises an eyebrow at me.**

**“Are you?”**

 

“QUESTION DODGER!!” Zeke and Uriah shout at Caleb and he turns pink. I just laugh. 

 

**I could tell him I’ve been worried for weeks about what the aptitude test will tell me-Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity, or Dauntless?**

 

**Instead, I smile and say, “Not really.”**

 

**He smiles back, “Well… have a good day.”**

 

**I walk toward Faction History, chewing on my lower lip. He never answered my question.**

 

“I thought I got away with it.” Caleb shakes his head and everyone chuckles. 

  
  


**The hallways are cramped, through the light coming through the windows creates the illusion of space; they are one of the only places where the factions mix, at our age.**

 

**Today the crowd has a new kind of energy, a last day mania.**

 

**A girl with long curly hair shouts “Hey!” next to my ear, waving at a distant friend. A jacket sleeve smacks me on the cheek. Then and Erudite bot in a blur sweater shoves me.**

 

**I lose my balance and fall hard on the ground.**

 

**“Out of my way, Stiff,” he snaps, and continues down the hallway.**

 

**My cheeks warm. I get up and dust myself off. A few people stopped when I fell, but none of them offered to help me. Their eyes follow me to the edge of the hallway.**

 

**This sort of thing has been happening to others in my faction for months now-the Erudite have been releasing antagonistic reports about Abnegation, and it has begun to affect the way we relate at school.**

 

**The gray clothes, the plain hairstyle, and the unassuming demeanor of my faction are supposed to make it easier for me to forget myself and for others to forget me too. But now they make me a target.**

 

“Sweetie, you should have told us it was this bad, we had no idea.” my dad says and I smile a little at him. “I thought it would have been selfish to complain about it.” I say, and it’s true.

 

My parents smile sadly at me and my mother keeps reading. 

 

**I pause by the window in the E Wing and wait for the Dauntless to arrive.**

 

“Stalker Alert!” Uriah screams and I laugh. 

 

**I do this every morning. At exactly 7:25, the Dauntless prove thier bravery by jumping from a moving train.**

 

“Told you, stalker,” Uriah says and I smile a little more and shake my head. 

 

**My father calls the Dauntless “hellions.” They are pierced, tattooed, and black-clothed. Their primary purpose is to gaurd the fence that surrounds our city. From what, I don’t know.**

 

“Wait, do you know, Max?” I ask and he just shakes his head and my mother keeps reading. 

 

**They should perplex me. I should wonder what courage-which is the virtue they most value- has to do with a meatal ring through your nostril. Instead, my eyes cling to them wherever they go.**

 

“Stalker level rising, ladies and gentleman, stalker level rising!” Uriah shouts

 

**The train whistle blares, the sound resonating in my chest. The light fixed to the front of the train clicks on and off as the train hurtles past school, squealing on iorn rails.**

 

“Tris, you mind is wierd,” Tori says and all the Dauntless nod in agreement. 

 

**And as the last few cars pass, a mass exodus of young men and women in dark clothing hurl themselves from the moving cars, some dropping and rolling, others stumbling a few steps before regaining their balance. One of the boys wraps his arms around a girl’s shoulders, laughing**

 

**Watching them is a foolish practice. I turn away from the window and press through the crowd to the Faction History classroom.**

 

“That’s the end of the chapter,” my mom says putting the book down. 

 

“Who wants dinner?” Roxy asks and we all stand up to follow her into a kitchen that has a table in the middle. 

 

My mother and father go to help Roxy fix dinner. Marcus tried to go help but Four made him promise to stay away from Roxy for some reason. 

 

“Who wants to play Candor or Dauntless?” Zeke asks and almost everyone nods in agreement. I turn to Four, “What’s Candor or Dauntless?” I ask, he tries to answer me but Christina pulls me away to get ready. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me if I should continue this story please.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang plays a little Candor or Dauntless with everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't own divergent :(

Roxy POV

 

It’s so weird seeing Mom and Dad as teenagers, Mom blushes whenever anyone pays any attention to her and Dad is almost emotionless, except when he looks at Mom. 

 

I walk over to Dad, or should I say Four. “Hey,” I say and he looks over at me. I have his eyes and hooked nose. “Hey there,” He says back with a slight smile, I smile back. “I’m pretty sure Christina in driving Mom, I mean Tris, crazy,” I say with a laugh

 

He laughs too, being from Abnegation he knows how hard it is to change so much. 

 

I turn to the topic I wanted to talk about. “I know why you stopped Marcus from helping me with dinner.” He stiffens at the mention of his father but I keep talking. 

 

“I was first in Dauntless initiation, I can handle myself, I just wanted you to know that,” I say and he smiles at me. 

 

“It’s not that I don’t think you're capable, it’s that you shouldn’t have to deal with it. I honestly have a really fucked up family and I don’t want you to deal with it.” He says.

 

I smile. “Do you think I should go save Mom or leave her to the wrath of Christina,” I say and he lets out a real laugh. 

 

“I kind of want to see how she looks after a ‘makeover’” he says putting air quotes around the word. 

 

Even though they just met, I can tell that it was love at first sight for him at least, I will have to wait and see for my mom.

 

Just then I hear a yell, “Christina, I will not wear that! Why do you think it is necessary to wear lace underwear, it’s not like anyone will see it!” I hear Mom saying. 

 

Dad laughs a real laugh. “I think you should go save her.” He says looking at me. I nod and walk over to the door. 

 

“Christina! No, that dress was made for a mouse!” I hear her saying. 

 

I walk in to find mom standing there in a robe and Christina looking in the closet. “Fine!” Christina huffs and pulls out a dress that is a little longer and looser. 

 

Mom rolls her eyes, “Fine, but if my parents give me the disappointed glare, it’s your fault.” and takes the dress to the bathroom. I speak up, “Dad and I heard you guys arguing about lace underwear.” I say and Mom turns into a strawberry while Christina laughs.

 

“Tris doesn't understand that people will see her underwear when we play Candor or Dauntless.” and mom stands there in shock. 

 

“I’ve never played that game before.” She says and Christina and I exchange glances. 

 

Four POV

 

I felt a small triumph in my chest when I heard that Tris and I end up together, I knew there was some indescribable quality about her when I first saw her getting off the net. 

 

We are playing Candor or Dauntless and surprisingly, everyone is playing, even the Stiffs. 

 

Roxy raises her hand and silences the room. 

 

“Okay, we are playing Candor or Dauntless, for all you Stiffs. Basically, you get asked Candor or Dauntless and you have to answer the question or do the dare if you don’t, then you have to take off a piece of clothing that is not shoes, socks, or jewelry.” 

 

When Roxy finishes the explanation, the Abnegation members decide they still want to play.  

 

“I’ll go first!” Roxy says and she focuses her gaze on me. “Four, Candor or Dauntless?” she asks, she knows about Marcus and everything so I feel safe when I say, “Candor. Uriah, if you say a word then I will beat you to a pulp.” Uriah closes his mouth quickly. 

 

“Do you like Tris, romantically, I mean.” if I take off my shirt then everyone will think I do anyway so there is only one way out. 

 

“I guess you could say that,” I say and I see Tris’s face turn into a strawberry. I grin. 

 

“Tris, Candor or Dauntless,” I say and she looks up. 

 

“Dauntless,” perfect, I think to myself. 

 

“I dare you to sit on your crush’s lap until someone picks Candor again,” I say and see her thinking it over. She walks over to me and sits on my lap blushing like crazy. I grin at her and see her faint smile. 

 

“Mom, Candor or Dauntless,” She asks Mrs. Prior who has a wide smile on her face. 

 

“Dauntless.” She says, I mentally thank Mrs. Prior for not choosing Candor. 

 

Tris thinks for a moment. “I dare you to tell us your honest first impressions of everyone in the room.” _ That’s a really good dare.  _ I think to myself. Mrs. Prior thinks for a mommet before she starts talking. 

 

“Well, my first impression of Four was that he was very mysterious and, honestly, I thought he was attractive.” I grin at that and she moves on to Zeke. 

 

“I thought Zeke was a joker and very funny. It seems like him and Four balance each other out in a way.” She is so observant. 

 

“I thought that Uriah and Zeke might as well have been twins, the way they say the same things and are always joking around.”

 

I can't help it, I laugh and everyone stares at me. “Who are you and what have you done with Four! Four never laughs when he's sober!” Shouts Zeke who is has a fake shocked expression on his face. I just roll my eyes. 

 

“I’m sorry but I didn't catch your name.” Mrs. Prior says to Marlene. “I’m Marlene.” She says with a smile like always. 

 

“Well, Marlene, I thought you were very sweet and you have a crush on Uriah.” Mrs. Prior is awesome. 

 

Marlene turns beet red but Uriah smiles and pulls her closer. I am really starting to like Tris’s family. 

 

“As for Lynn, I think she is independent and a fighter.” That was the first time I’ve ever seen Lynn really smile. 

 

“For Shauna, she is protective of Lynn and has a crush on Zeke.” Shauna turns bright red and Zeke goes over to her and wraps an arm around her. 

 

“I think Eric is determined to get whatever he wants and tries to act superior to put others down.” Eric nods his head, he takes it as a compliment instead of an insult. 

 

“Max is nice enough and I think he doesn't like Eric very much.” Everyone bursts into laughter because that's so true. 

 

Mrs. Prior talks about her first impressions of everyone from a while and we continue playing the game. 

 

“Dauntless or Candor, Roxy,” Mrs. prior says nodding at Roxy. “Candor,” she says. I expect Tris to get up, but she stays on my lap. 

 

“What is the worst thing you have seen your parents do, in the future.” She says and Tris and I blush. 

 

Roxy grimaces. “Once I walked in on them doing adult things and it was like the full deal, like, everything was happening.” She grimaces again and Tris and I turn bright red while everyone around us laughs. 

 

The game goes on for an hour and soon, I am topless and so is Tris, I see that Christina made her wear the lacy bra in the end. 

 

I realize that we have been playing for over two hours and people are starting to get drowsy. 

 

“Why don't we call it a night guys,” I say and they nod. 

 

Tris starts to get up but I scoop her up in my arms, she was dared to get in a drinking contest with Lynn so she's a bit out of it. 

 

I bring her to her room and lay her down but before I pull away, she presses her lips to mine. It is brief, like a feather, but it still happened and before I know it, she's fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will post the next chapter in a couple days!
> 
> I just had to come up with a filler while I worked on it. :)


	4. Chapter Four

Tris POV

 

Turns out that there is a training room in this house, it has everything we need but all the weapons are kept in a safe that only Roxy knows the passcode to. 

 

I wake up at 7:30 and walk in, thinking I could get Four to teach me a little bit. When I turn the corner, I realize that some people had similar ideas. 

 

I see Four working on a punching bag that is swinging so much he has to keep avoiding it. I lightly knock on the wall and he turns and sees me. 

 

“Hey there,” he says, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead. 

 

“Hey, I was wondering if you could train me like you would have if we weren't in this place,” I say gesturing towards the house. He nods and walks over to me. 

 

“I’ll get Roxy to open the safe, I normally teach people how to shoot first,” He says and walks out of the room. 

 

I spend the morning training with Four and by lunch, I can hit the bullseye almost every time. 

 

We walk out and I notice that my mother and father are helping Roxy make lunch, I go over to help them too. 

 

“Beatrice, there’s no need to help us, you must be tired from training,” My mother says but I shake my head. My fingers to ace but shooting the gun makes me feel alive with adrenaline.

 

We make a meal that would not be standard Abnegation food, Roxy teaches us what a hamburger is and how to make them. 

 

Everyone compliments my mother and father on their cooking skills and we sit down to read the next chapter. 

 

I take the book from Roxy and begin to read. 

 

**THE TESTS BEGIN after lunch. We sit at the long tables in the cafeteria, and the test administrators call ten names at a time, one for each testing room. I sit next to Caleb and across from our neighbor Susan.**

 

“Are we going to get more boring Stiff thought monologues?” asks Peter, no one responds so I just keep reading. 

 

**Susan’s father travels throughout the city for his job, so he has a car and drives her to and from school every day.**

 

**He offered to drive us, too, but as Caleb says, we prefer to leave later and would not want to inconvenience him.**

 

**Of course not.**

 

Caleb looks over at me “I never knew you wanted to ride in the car,” I just roll my eyes.

 

“You never asked me if I wanted to so I think there’s blame all around,” I say, Four laughs. 

 

**The test administrators are mostly Abnegation volunteers, although there is an Erudite in one of the testing rooms and a Dauntless in the another to test those of us from Abnegation because the rules state that we can’t be tested by someone from our own faction.**

 

“She just has to explain every detail, doesn’t she,” says Zeke, laughing a bit. 

 

**The rules also say that we can’t prepare for the test in any way, so I don’t know what to expect.**

 

**My gaze shifts from Susan to the Dauntless tables across the room. They are laughing and shouting and playing cards.**

 

“STALKER ALERT!” yells Uriah and Lynn hits him with a pillow. “God, how can you make a pillow hurt, Lynn,” he asks rubbing his head she smiles at him. 

 

“With my exceptional strength, of course.” everyone laughs and I keep reading. 

 

**At another set of tables, the Erudite chatter over books and newspapers, in constant pursuit of knowledge.**

 

“Or just trying not to get bored,” says Will. 

 

**A group of Amity girls in yellow and red sit in a circle on the cafeteria floor, playing some kind of hand-slapping game involving a rhyming song.**

 

“Why are they sitting on the floor of the cafeteria, that’s so gross,” says Christina and most people just nod. 

 

**Every few minutes I hear a chorus of laughter from them as someone is eliminated and has to sit in the center of the circle.**

 

“I know that Abnegation is weird, but Amity might be weirder, they're just too happy all the time,” says Tori. 

 

“They drug the bread,” says Max and we all stare at him. “They put peace serum in the bread which makes them all unreasonably happy all the time.”

 

**At the table next to them, Candor boys make wide gestures with their hands. They appear to be arguing about something, but it must not be serious, because some of them are still smiling.**

 

“Actually, one of the boys was talking about his parent's new car and how awesome it was,” says Christina

 

**At the Abnegation table, we sit quietly and wait. Faction customs dictate even idle behavior and supersede individual preference.**

 

“Ok, nevermind, Abnegation is still the weirdest,” says Tori and I laugh a little. 

 

**I doubt all the Erudite want to study all the time,**

 

“You got that right,” says Will

 

**or that every Candor enjoys a lively debate,**

 

“You have no idea how true that is,” says Christina smiling. 

 

**but they can’t defy the norms or their factions any more than I can.**

 

**Caleb’s name is called in the next group. He moves confidently toward the exit. I don’t need to wish him luck or assure him that he shouldn’t be nervous. He knows where he belongs, and as far as I know, he always has.**

 

Caleb hangs his head and looks at the floor, if only I knew how conflicted he was, I could have helped him. 

 

**My earliest memory of him is from when we were four years old. He scolded me for not giving my jump rope to a little girl on the playground who didn’t have anything to play with.**

 

“Are you always mean to her?” asks the big Candor transfer-Al-and Caleb hangs his head a little bit. 

 

“It wasn’t his fault,” I say, “it was Jennifer Watson’s fault.” They all look at me in confusion and Caleb laughs, 

 

“You remembered her name?” I turn a little pink,

 

“She wanted my jump rope, why didn’t she just bring her own?” The others laugh at me and I blush. 

 

**He doesn't lecture me often anymore, but I have his look of disapproval memorized.**

 

“Ok, Caleb is like the worst brother ever,” says Christina and I laugh a little at that. 

 

**I have tried to explain to him that my instincts are not the same as his-it didn’t even enter my mind to give my seat to the Candor man on the bus-but he doesn't understand**

 

**“Just do what you're supposed to,” he always says. It is that easy for him. It should be that easy for me.**

 

Caleb opens his mouth like he wants to say something but closes it almost immediately. 

 

**My stomach wrenches. I close my eyes and keep them closed until ten minutes later when Caleb sits down again.**

 

**He is plaster-pale. He pushes his palms along his legs like I do when I wipe off sweat, and when he brings them back, his fingers shake.**

 

“Was I really that obvious?” he asks and I nod my head and so does Susan, we both laugh a bit.  

 

**I open my mouth to ask him something, but the words don’t come. I am not allowed to ask him about his results and he is not allowed to tell me.**

 

“You guys actually follow that rule?” asks Zeke and I nod, that rule has kept me safe but my secrets are about to be revealed. I shiver at the thought

 

**An Abnegation volunteer speaks the next round of names. Two from Dauntless, two from Erudite, two from Amity, two from Candor, and then: “From Abnegation: Susan Black and Beatrice Prior.”**

 

“Beatrice sounds so wrong for you,” says Four thoughtfully, I laugh and blush a little. 

 

**I get up because I’m supposed to, but if it were up to me I would stay in my seat for the rest of time. I feel like there is a bubble in my chest that expands more by the second, threatening to break me apart from the inside.**

 

“Why are you so nervous, I mean, you're acting like it’s the end of the world, ” says Will and I just shrug because, in a way, it was.

 

**I follow Susan to the exit. The people I pass probably can’t tell us apart. We wear the same clothes and we wear our blond hair the same way.**

 

“We can tell people apart, you know, we’re not blind,” says Christina, a little offended. I laugh and keep reading. 

 

**The only difference is that Susan might not feel like she’s going to throw up, and from what I can tell, her hands aren’t shaking so hard she has to clutch the hem of her shirt to steady them.**

 

“God, Stiff, take a chill pill,” says Lynn and I roll my eyes. 

 

**Waiting for us outside the cafeteria is a row of ten room. They are used only for the aptitude tests, so I have never been in one before.**

 

**Unlike the other rooms in teh school, they are separated, not by glass, but by mirrors. I watch myself, pale and terrified, walking toward one of the doors.**

 

**Susan grins nervously at me as she walks into room 5, and I walk into room 6, where a Dauntless woman waits for me.**

 

‘Oh My GOD!!” shouts Roxy. “Could this writer make it any more obvious!” (AN: You know, six fears?) I have no idea what she’s talking about so I just keep reading.

 

**She is not as severe-looking as the young Dauntless I have seen. She has small, dark, angular eyes and wears a black blazer-like a man’s suit-and jeans.**

 

“It’s me!” shouts Tori, like a little kid. 

 

**It is only when she turns to close the door that I see a tattoo on the back of her neck, and black-and-white hawk with a red eye.**

 

**If I didn't feel like my heart had migrated to my throat, I would ask her what it signifies. It must signify something.**

 

**Mirrors cover the inner walls of the room. I can see my reflection from all angles: the grey fabric obscuring the shape of my back, my long neck, my knobby-knuckled hands, red with a blood blush**

 

“Why do they make the walls mirrors?” asks Al, to no one in particular.

 

“I think it’s like a joke that the Erudite play on the Abnegation, you know because most of the test administrators are Abnegation,” says Will and I nod, seems like something the Erudite would do. 

 

**The ceiling glows white with light. In the center of the room is a reclined chair, like a dentist’s, with a machine next to it. I looks like a place where terrible things happen.**

 

“You’re so pessimistic,” says Uriah and I laugh a little. 

 

**“Don’t worry,” the woman says, “It doesn't hurt.”**

 

**Her hair is black and straight, but in the light, I see that it is streaked with grey.**

 

“Hey! I don't have grey hair!” says Tori and I smile a little, I like it here with these people, it feels free. 

 

**“Have a seat and get comfortable,” she says. “My name is Tori.”**

 

“Told you,” Tori says

 

**Clumsily I sot in the chair and recline, putting my head on the headrest. The lights hurt my eyes.**

 

**Tori busies with the machine on my right. I try to focus on her and not the wires in her hands.**

 

**“Why the hawk?” I blurt out as she attaches an electrode to my forehead.**

 

The room chuckles at my awkwardness. 

 

**“Never net a curious Abnegation before,” she says, raising her eyebrows at me.**

 

**I shiver, and goosebumps appear on my arms. My curiosity is a mistake, a betrayal of Abnegation values.**

 

“Do you just spend all your time criticizing yourself?” asks Four and I shrug,

 

“Pretty much.”

 

**Humming a little she presses another electrode to my forehead and explains, “In some parts of the ancient world, the hawk symbolized the sun. Back when I got this, I figured if I always had the sun on me, I wouldn’t be afraid of the dark.”**

 

“Your afraid of the dark?” asks Uriah and Zeke at the same time, Tori doesn’t answer. 

 

**I try to stop myself from asking another question, but I can’t help it. “You're afraid of the dark?”**

 

The room bursts out laughing and Tori smiles. 

 

**“I** **_was_ ** **afraid of the dark,” she corrects me. She presses the next electrode to her own forehead and attaches a wire to it. She shrugs. “Now it reminds me of the fear I’ve overcome.”**

 

“Oh,” says Zeke

 

**She stands behind me. I squeeze the armrests so tightly the redness pulls away from my knuckles. She tugs wires toward her, attaching them to me, to her, to the machine behind her. Then she passes me a vial of clear liquid.**

 

**“Drink this,” she says**

 

**“What is it?” My throat feels swollen. I swallow hard. “What’s going to happen?”**

 

**“Can’t tell you that. Just trust me.”**

 

“Yeah, Tris,” says Shauna, “Trust the strange Dauntless woman you’ve just met two minutes ago.”

 

**I press air from my lungs and tip the contents of the vial into my mouth. My eyes close.**

 

**When they open, an instant has passed, but I am somewhere else. I stand in the school cafeteria again, but all the long tables are empty, and I see through the glass walls that it’s snowing.**

 

“Why is it snowing in the test, I’ve never been told why,” says Tori and Max just shrugs

 

**On the table in front of me are two baskets. In one is a hunk of cheese, and in the other, a knife the length of my forearm.**

 

**Behind me, a woman’s voice says “Choose.”**

 

**‘Why?” I ask.**

 

**“Choose,” she repeats.**

 

**I look over my shoulder, but no one is there. I turn back to the baskets. “What will I do with them?”**

 

**“Choose!” she yells.**

 

**When she screams at me, my fear disappears and stubbornness replaces it. I scowl and cross my arms.**

 

Everyone laughs at me and I laugh too, it feels good to laugh with people. “Only you,” says Four shaking his head and I blush a bit. 

 

**‘Have it your way,” she says.**

 

**The baskets disappear. I hear a door squeak and I turn to see who it is. I see not a “who” but a “what”: A dog with a pointed nose stands a few yards away from me.**

 

I see a few people shudder, remembering their own aptitude tests. 

 

**It crouches low and creeps towards me, its lips peeling back from its white teeth. A growl gurgles from deep in its throat, and I see why the cheese would have come in hande. Or the knife, but it’s too late now.**

 

**I think about running, but the dig will be faster than me. I can’t wrestle it to teh ground. My head pounds. I have to make a decision.**

 

“So you didn’t get a Dauntless test result?” asks Christina and I pretend not to hear her, she will find out soon enough. 

 

**If I can jump over the table and use it as a shield-no, I am too short to jump over the tables, and not strong enough to tip on over**

 

**The dog snarls, and I can almost feel teh sound vibrating in my skull.**

 

**My biology textbook said that dogs can smell fear of a chemical secreted by human glands in a state of duress, the same chemical a dog’s prey secretes.**

 

“She’s thinking like and Erudite,” says Eric, I turn a little pale, they will all know. 

 

**Smelling fear leads them to attack. The dog inches toward me, its nails scraping the floor.**

 

**I can’t run. I can’t fight, Instead, I breathe in teh smell of the dog’s foul breath and try not to think about what it just ate. There are no whites in its eyes, just a black gleam**

 

**What else do I know about dogs? I shouldn’t look it in the eye. That’s a sign of aggression.**

 

**I remember asking my father for a pet dog when I was young, and now, staring at the ground in front of the dog’s paws, I can’t remember why.**

 

**It comes closer, still growling. If staring into its eyes is a sign of aggression, what’s a sign of submission?**

 

“Did you get an Erudite test result?” asks Christina, I shake my head but, in a way, I did. 

 

**My breaths are loud but steady. I sink to my knees. The last thing I want to do is lie down-making its teeth level with my face-but it’s the best option I have.**

 

**I stretch my legs ou behind me and lean in my elbows. The dog creeps closer, and closer until I feel it’s warm breath on my face. My arms are shaking.**

 

**It barks in my ear, and I clench my teeth to keep from screaming.**

 

“She acting like a Dauntless with the thought process of an Erudite,” says Caleb, who seems fascinated by this revelation. 

 

**Something rough and wet touches my cheeks. The dog’s growling stops, and when I lift my head to look at it again, it is panting. It licked my face.**

 

Everyone stares at me and I pretend not to notice

 

**I frown and sit on my heels. The dog props it’s paws up on my knees and licks my chin. I cringe, wiping the drool from my skin, and laugh.**

 

**“You're not such a vicious beast, huh?”**

 

**I get up slowly so I don’t startle it, but it seems like a different animal than the one that I faced a few seconds ago.**

 

**I stretch out a hand, carefully, so I can draw it back if I need to. The dog nudges my hand with its head. I am suddenly glad I didn’t pick up the kife.**

 

“Why did you choose Dauntless? It seems like you didn’t get that result.” I shrug, not answering the question. 

 

**I blink, and when I open my eyes, a child stands across the room wearing a white dress. She stretches out both hands and squeals, “Puppy!”**

 

**As she runs toward the dog at my side, I open my mouth to warn her, but I am too late. The dog turns. Instead of growling, it barks and snarls and snaps, and its muscles bunch up like a coiled wire. About to pounce.**

 

**I don’t think, I just jump; I hurl my body on top of the dog, wrapping my arms around its thick neck.**

 

My parents smile at me and I smile back, I am not selfless enough for Abnegation but growing up there paid off in some ways. 

 

**My head hits the ground. The dog is gone, and so is the little girl, Instead, I am alone in the testing room, now empty.**

 

“Wait,” says Christina, “I didn’t get this on my test, did any of you?” she asks the room at large and everyone shakes their heads, staring at me.  

 

**I turn in a slow circle and I can’t see myself in any of the mirrors. I push teh door open and walk into the hallway, but it isn’t a hallway; it’s a bus, and all the seats are taken.**

 

**I stand in the aisle and hold on to a pole. Sitting near me is a man with a newspaper. I can’t see his face over the top of the paper, but I can see his hands.**

 

“Why is your test different?” asks Caleb but I don't’ answer, they will find out soon enough. 

 

**They are scared like he was burned, and they clench around the paper like he wants to crumple it.**

 

**“Do you know this guy?” he asks. He taps teh picture on the front of the newspaper. The headline reads: “Brutal Murderer Finally Apprehended!”**

 

**I stare at the word “murderer.” It has been a long time since I last read that word, but even its shape fills me with dread.**

 

**In the picture beneath the headline is a young man with a plain face and a beard. I feel like I do know him, though I don’t remember how. And at the same time, I feel like it would be a bad idea to tell the man that.**

 

**“Well?” I hear anger in his voice. “Do you?”**

 

Everyone is silent, listening intently. 

 

**A bad idea-no, a very bad idea. My heart pounds and I clutch the pole to keep my hands from shaking, from giving me away.**

 

**If I tell him I know the man from the article, something awful will happen to me. But I can convince him that I don’t. I can clear my throat and shrug my shoulders-but that would be a lie.**

 

**I clear my throat.**

 

**“Do you?” he repeats.**

 

**I shrug my shoulders.**

 

**“Well?”**

 

**A shudder goes through me. My fear is irrational; this is just a test, it isn’t real. “Nope,” I say, my voice casual. “No idea who he is.”**

 

**He stands, and I finally see his face. He wears dark sunglasses and his mouth is bent into a snarl. His cheek is rippled with scars, like his hands. He leans close to my face**

 

**His breath smells like cigarettes.** **_Not real_ ** **, I remind myself.** **_Not real_ ** **.**

 

**“You're lying,” he says. “You're** **_lying_ ** **!”**

 

**“I am not.”**

 

**“I can see it in your eyes.”**

 

**I pull myself up straighter. “You can’t.”**

 

**“If you know him,” he says in a low voice, “You could save me. You could** **_save_ ** **me!”**

 

**I narrow my eyes. “Well,” I say.  I set my jaw. “I don’t.”**

 

“That’s the end of the chapter,” I say. Four holds out his hand for the book and I give it to him. 

 

“There’s not much to do here, might as well keep reading.” He says shrugging and I nod. 


	5. Chapter Five

Roxy’s POV

 

Seeing my parents together makes me miss Lara, she is my girlfriend back home and want to hold her so badly, I am almost considering going back to get her just so I can smell the passion fruit scent that radiates off her strawberry blond hair… 

 

“Roxy!” I hear my name being called and I jump. 

 

“What’s wrong?” I ask and they all look at me with concern written on their faces. 

 

“I was calling your name for the past three minutes, are you okay?” asks Tris and I nod a bit. 

 

“Yeah, just thinking about my girlfriend back home, I miss her,” I say sadly before realizing that I just outed myself in front of my future parents.

 

Tris does something I don’t expect. She smiles and hugs me. 

 

She is not my mother yet but she has the same smell and I breathe it in. It calms me, but I want the smell of passionfruit shampoo on strawberry blond hair. 

 

Tonight I will go and get her, I really am a mess without her. 

 

I sniffle and smile gratefully at Tris, Four starts reading. 

 

**I WAKE TO sweaty palms and a pang of guilt in my chest. I am lying in the chair in the mirrored room.**

 

“Let’s find out what Tris got!” shouts Zeke, followed by pillows hitting him from around the room. 

 

**When I tilt my head back, I see Tori behind me. She pinches her lips together and removes electrodes from our heads.**

 

**I wait for her to say something about the test- that it’s over, or that I did well, although how could I do poorly on a test like this?-but she says nothing, just pulls the wires from my forehead.**

 

“Why is she not saying anything?” asks Al to the room at large. No one answers so Four just keeps reading. 

 

**I sit forward and wipe my palms off on my slacks. I had to have done something wrong, even if it only happened in my mind.**

 

**Is that strange look on Tori’s face because she doesn’t know how to tell me what a terrible person I am? I wish she would just come out with it.**

 

“I’ve never seen Tori act like that,” says Shauna and people nod with her. 

 

**“That,” she says, “was perplexing. Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”**

 

**Perplexing?**

 

“What did you get, Tris!” asks Uriah and she says nothing so Four keeps reading. 

 

**I bring my knees to my chest and bury my face in them. I wish I felt like crying because the tears might bring me a sense of release, but I don’t**

 

**How can you fail a test you aren't allowed to prepare for?**

 

“Because it’s not that kind of test,” says Eric, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

 

“You know that book Tris can’t hear you, right?” asks Lynn and Eric rolls his eyes

 

**As the moments pass, I get more nervous. I have to wipe off my hands every few seconds as the sweat collects-or maybe I just do it because it helps me feel calmer.**

 

**What if they tell me that I’m cut out for any faction? I would have to live on the streets, with the factionless. I can’t do that.**

 

“More Stiff monologues, really guys?” asks Peter, rolling his eyes. 

 

**To live factionless is not just to live in poverty and discomfort; it is to live divorced from society, separated from the most important thing in life: community.**

 

I see Four stiffen a bit at this, he is the only one who knows that they are actually living in a factionless community of their own. 

 

**My mother told me once that we can’t survive alone, but even if we could, we wouldn’t want to. Without a faction, we have no purpose and no reason to live.**

 

**I shake my head. I can’t think like this. I have to stay calm.**

 

Everyone is staring at Tris who is staring at her shoes. 

 

**Finally, the door opens, and Tori walks back in. I grip the arms of the chair.**

 

**“Sorry to worry you,” Tori says. She stands by my feet with her hands in her pockets. She looks tense and pale.**

 

“I’ve never seen Tori tense and pale.” Says a shocked Marlene

 

“First time for everything.” Replies Tori, shrugging her shoulders. 

 

**“Beatrice, your results were inconclusive,” she says.**

 

Max and Eric smirk a little bit and they look like they’re up to something. 

 

**“Typically, each stage of the simulation eliminates one or more of the factions, but in your case, only two have been ruled out.”**

 

“WHAT!” screams Max, he is bubbling with confusion and rage. 

 

**I stare at her. “Two?” I ask. My throat is so tight it’s hard to talk.**

 

**“If you had shown an automatic distaste for the knife and selected the cheese, the simulation would have led you to a different scenario that confirmed your aptitude for Amity. That didn’t happen, which is why Amity is out.”**

 

“I could never imagine you in Amity, too stubborn,” says Caleb and I laugh a little bit. 

 

“You have no idea, once she gave me the silent treatment because I refused to do my homework and she wouldn’t talk to me until it was done,” I say and the room bursts into laughter as Tris blushes. 

 

**Tori scratches the back of her neck. “Normally, the simulation progresses in a linear fashion, isolating one faction by ruling out the rest. The choices you made didn’t even allow Candor, the next possibility, to be ruled out, so I had to alter the simulation to put you on the bus. And there your insistence upon dishonesty ruled out Candor.”**

 

“I was right!” yells Christina and we just ignore her. 

 

**She half smiles. “Don’t worry about that. Only the Candor tell teh truth in that one.”**

 

**One of the knots in my chest loosens. Maybe I’m not an awful person.**

 

“Tris, you’re not an awful person. Please stop beating yourself up for these little things,” says Four looking up from the book and smiling at Tris. 

 

**“I suppose that’s not entirely true. The people who tell the truth are the Candor… and the Abnegation,” she says. “Which gives us a problem.”**

 

**My mouth falls open.**

 

**“On the one hand, you threw yourself at the dog rather than let it attack the little girl, which is and Abnegation-oriented response… but on teh other, when the man told you that the truth would save him, you still refused to tell it. Not an Abnegation-oriented response.”**

 

“You are so confusing, Tris,” says Uriah, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. 

 

**She sighs. “Not running from the dog suggests Dauntless, but so does taking the knife, which you didn’t do.”**

 

“Told you,” says Uriah, “confusing.”

 

**She clears her throat and continues. “Your intelligent response to the dog indicates strong alignment with the Erudite. I have no idea what to make of your indecision in stage one, but-”**

 

**“Wait,” I interrupt her. “So you have no idea what my aptitude is?”**

 

**“Yes and no. My conclusion,” she explains, “is that display equal aptitude for Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. People who get this kind of result are…”**

 

**She looks over her shoulder like she expects someone to appear behind her. “... are called…** **_Divergent_ ** **.” She says the last word so quietly that I almost don’t hear it, and her tense worried look returns.**

 

“You had an aptitude for three factions?!” exclaims Marcus and I see Four stiffen when his father speaks. 

 

Tris just nods her head. 

 

**She walks around the side of the chair and leans in close to me.**

 

**“Beatrice,” she says, “under no circumstances should you share that information with anyone. This is very important.”**

 

**“We aren't supposed to share our results.” I nod. “I know that.”**

 

“You can’t take a hint, can you, Tris,” says Tori and Tris snickers a bit. 

 

**“No.” Tori kneels next to the chair now and places her arms on the armrest. Our faces are inches apart.**

 

**“This is different. I don’t mean that you shouldn’t share them now; I mean you should never share them with anyone,** **_ever_ ** **, no matter what happens. Divergence is extremely dangerous. You understand?”**

 

**I don’t understand- how could inconclusive test results be dangerous-but I still nod. I don’t want to share my test results with anyone anyway.**

 

**“Okay.” I peel my hands from the arms of the chair and stand. I feel unsteady.**

 

“How many have you hidden, Tori?” asks Max and Tori just rolls her eyes. 

 

“Like I’m gonna tell you.”

 

**“I suggest,” Tori says, “that you go home. You have a lot of thinking to do, and waiting with the others may not benefit you.”**

 

**“I have to tell my brother where I’m going.”**

 

**“I’ll let him know.”**

 

Tris and Caleb both exchange smiles at those words. 

 

**I touch my forehead and stare at the floor as I walk out of the room. I can’t bear to look her in the eye. I can’t bear to think about the Choosing Ceremony tomorrow.**

 

**It’s my choice now, no matter what the test says.**

 

**Abnegation. Dauntless. Erudite**

 

**Divergent.**

 

“Page break,” says Four

 

**I decide not to take the bus. If I get home early, my father will notice when he checks the house log at the end of the day, and I’ll have to explain what happened.**

 

“Why do Abnegation have house logs?” asks Will to the room at large. 

 

“I have no idea,” says Tris, “I think it’s because we don’t have locks.”

 

**Instead, I walk. I’ll have to intercept Caleb before he mentions anything to our parents, but Caleb can keep a secret.**

 

I see Mr. and Mrs. Prior look up at their son who seems to find his shoes very interesting all of a sudden. 

 

**I walk in the middle of the road. The buses tend to hug the curb, so it’s safer here.**

 

**Sometimes, on the streets near my house, I can see places where the yellow lines used to be.**

 

“I AM SO DONE WITH STIFF MONOLOGUES!” yells Peter and he goes to walk out of the room but I take out my paralyzer and shoot him, causing him to fall over. Everyone stares at me. Four shrugs and keeps reading. 

 

**We have no use for them now that there are so few cars. We don’t need stoplight either, but in some places, they dangle precariously over the road like they might crash down any minute.**

 

“We should do something about that, Marcus,” says Mr. Prior and Marcus nods. I see Four roll his eyes at his father’s ‘perfect Abnegation’ act. 

 

**Renovation moves slowly through the city, which is a patchwork of new, clean buildings and old, crumbling ones.**

 

“You really have a weird mind, Tris. A patchwork of buildings?” Says Zeke and Tris shrugs. 

 

**Most of the new buildings are next to the marsh, which used to be a lake a long time ago. The Abnegation volunteer agency my mother works for is responsible for most of these renovations.**

 

“This is so boring. Can't we just skip ahead to the interesting stuff?” Asks Eric, rolling his eyes. Everyone glares at him and Four keeps reading. 

 

**I when I look at the Abnegation lifestyle as an outsider, I think it’s beautiful.**

 

Tris’s parents smile at her and she gives them a small smile in return. 

 

**When I watch my family move in harmony; when we go to dinner parties and everyone cleans together afterward without having to be asked; when I see Caleb help strangers carry their groceries, I fall in love with this life all over again.**

 

Tris averts her eyes and looks down, knowing what comes next. 

 

**It’s only when I try to live it myself that I have trouble. It never feels genuine.**

 

The smile on her parent's faces fall 

 

**But choosing a different faction means I forsake my family. Permanently.**

 

She can be such a downer, both of them can **.** They are only light around each other. 

 

**Just past the Abnegation sector of the city is that stretch of building skeletons and broken sidewalks that I now walk through.**

 

“You think of the weirdest metaphors,” Says Shauna and the rest of us nod. 

 

**There are places where the road has completely collapsed, revealing sewer systems and empty subways that I have to be careful to avoid, and places that stink so powerfully of sewage and trash that I have to plug my nose.**

 

“Why would you willingly walk through that? It's so gross.” Says Shauna and no one answers. 

 

**This is where the factionless live. Because they failed to complete initiation into whatever faction they chose, they live in poverty doing the work no one else wants to do.**

 

**They are the janitors and construction workers and garbage collectors; they make fabric and operate trains and drive buses. I return they get food and clothing, but, as my mother says, not enough of either.**

 

I see Four stiffen a little whenever Tris thinks about the factionless. He must associate them with his mother and I know he does not like her. 

 

**I see a factionless man standing on the corner up ahead. He wears ragged brown clothing and skin that sags from his jaw.**

 

“I already don't like this,” says Four and the rest of us nod, this guy seems scary. 

 

**He stares at me, and I stare back at him, unable to look away.**

 

**“Excuse me,” he says. His voice is raspy. “Do you have something I can eat?”**

 

**I feel a lump in my throat. A stern voice in my head says,** **_Duck your head and keep walking_ ** **.**

 

“Run, Tris, run!” Shouts Zeke and we laugh. 

 

**No. I shake my head. I should not be afraid of this man. He needs help and I am supposed to help him.**

 

Her parents smile at her, they seem pleased that their daughter listened to their lessons. 

 

**“Um… yes,” I say, I reach into my bag. My father tells me to keep food in my bag at all times for exactly this reason. I offer the man a small bag of dried apple slices.**

 

**He reaches for them, but instead of taking the bag, his hand closes around my wrist.**

 

Four’s eyes look alarmed, he seems angered that anyone would touch Tris. Tris must have picked up on his mood because she puts her hand in his. 

 

**He smiles at me. He has a gap between his front teeth.**

 

**“My, don’t you have pretty eyes,” he says. “It’s a shame the rest of you is so plain.”**

 

My heart beats, my mother has never told me about this and I don't know what's happening. 

 

**My heart pounds. I tug my hand back, but his grip tightens. I smell something acrid on his breath.**

 

**“You look a little young to be walking around by yourself, dear,” he says.**

 

**I stop tugging and stand up straighter. I know I look young; I don’t need to be reminded.**

 

I laugh at that, everyone stares at me then starts laughing too. She is so stubborn. 

 

**“I’m older than I look,” I retort. “I’m sixteen.”**

 

**His lips spread wide, revealing a gray molar with a dark pit in the side. I can’t tell if he’s smiling or grimacing.**

 

**“Then isn’t today a special day for you? The day before you** **_choose_ ** **?”**

 

**“Let go of me,” I say. I hear ringing in my ears. My voice sounds clear and stern-not what I expected to hear. I feel like it doesn’t belong to me.**

 

Four squeezes Tris’s hand and she smiles at him. 

 

**I am ready. I know what to do, I picture myself bringing my elbow back and hitting him. I see the bag of apples flying away from me. I hear my running footsteps. I am prepared to act.**

 

“Go, Tris!!” Yells Uriah and Zeke at the same time. She smiles at them until she sees her parent’s frowns. 

 

**But then he releases my wrist, takes the apples, and says, “Choose wisely, little girl.”**

 

“That was an intense chapter,” says Marlene and we all nod. 

 

“I’m hungry,” says Uriah and we all laugh. 

 

“When are you not hungry?” Asks Zeke with a smile and Uriah turns pink. We make our way to the kitchen and Uriah immediately goes to the fridge. 

 

Tris goes to the kettle and starts boiling water. “What are you making?” I ask and she smiles. 

 

“I heard about something called hot chocolate, thought I would try to make it.” She says and I smile. At home, she makes the best hot chocolate ever. 

 

I decide to go get Lara while everyone is busy. I press the gem in my ring and the door at the end of the corridor opens. I walk through it and find myself in my office. 

 

My office is very plain, white walls with no decorations but a clock. My desk, however, is a different story. There are pictures all over it. Mostly they are pictures of my family or Lara. 

 

My favorite one is the one that shows my whole family together for Christmas dinner and Lara is there as well. That was the day she met my parents as my girlfriend. Until that point, she was just a girl I hung out with. 

 

Everyone is smiling, even Jamie, my smallest brother who was only five at the time. I walk out of my office and find Lara in her office that is down the hall from mine. 

 

She opens her mouth to ask what's wrong but I cut her off by kissing her and she kisses me back. “Babe, I thought you were reading the book with your parents?” She asks and I nod. 

 

“I am but I missed you so much, I wanted to know if you would come with me,” I ask and her face lights up. 

 

“Of course, I would love too.” She says and I take her in my arms again getting engulfed by her sweet smell. 

 

“Let's go,” I say with a smile and she follows.

**Author's Note:**

> Should I continue this? please kudos and comment if you think I should.


End file.
